Instructor: Professor Gray Balls
Department: Feeling and Thinking about all the Feelings and Thoughts
Office Location: Internet
Office Hours: When I'm on the Internet
Course Description
Welcome to the first semester of Music Video Mystery School.
This course explores the strange possibility that music videos—those several-minute-long audiovisual spectacles scattered across the internet—may contain much more meaning than typically gets cred.
Through careful observation, philosophical curiosity, and the occasional over-interpretation, students will examine how music videos reflect:
- culture
- mythology
- symbolism
- emotion
- and the ongoing mystery of existence itself
No prior experience with philosophy is required.
Prior experience being a living being is recommended.
Hidden Curriculum
While this course officially studies music vids, its possible students may happen upon knowledge about themselves, cause the official unofficially focus of study is ourselves.
Required Materials
Students will need the following items in order to succeed in this course:
- An internet connection (and/or the ability to somehow obtain a vast collection of music videos in physical media form—and if you achieve this, please disclose your sources and methods immediately)
- A curiosity
- The desire to watch certain music videos more than once
- A tolerance for interpretive speculation
- Snacks
Class textbooks are these class blogs (which you're currently attending by reading)
or the physical, exists-in-real-life, real Semester #1 text book of Music Video Mystery School: Why Music Video Though.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this semester, students should be able to:
- Recognize hidden symbolism
- Notice cultural patterns
- Appreciate artistic ambition
- Question anything and everything
- Imagine—or design (maybe they’re the same thing)—a reality of your own ideal creation
Attendance Policy
Attendance is optional but encouraged.
Reality will be attending regardless.
Students are free to arrive late, leave early, rewind, or replay any class materials at any time.
Class Schedule
(Spoiler Alerts Ahead)
(For those that wanna get ahead)
Class 1
Syllabus for Semester #1: Why Music Video Though?
You're attending this class right now in this moment.
This entire first class is dedicated to syllabus examination so you'll know what to expect from now through final examination. Plus focusing solely on the syllabus for the first day of class and giving no homework is a classic teacher tactic to provide proof to you that I'm a cool teacher.
And spoiler alert that there will be no homework for this class which is right now, which can't be spoiled cause it's presently in the process of happening currently.
So here's an alert for spoilers for the future, the tense spoilers are supposed to be focused for proper spoiling.
Class 2
Intro to Semester #1: Why Music Video Though?
Why music video, though? Good question, semester title. What do music videos teach us about art, ourselves, each other, existence, and how it all relates—and is it even worth thinking about in the first place?
Well… is it?
Let’s find out.
A s s i g n e d V i e w i n g
“Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfong Dir: ??? (probably the Pinkfong kid's parents)
Class 3
Great Art / Bad Art > Okay Art
What makes "great art", "great"?
What makes "bad" art, sometimes, "great"?
Why are both "bad" and "great" greater than art that is just "okay"?
And wdho is doing all this quoting of these "bad" and "great" words.
Assigned Viewing:
Lil Nas X - “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Dir: Lil Nas X x Tanu Muino
Insane Clown Posse - “Miracles”
Dir: Paul Andresen
Class 4
10 Philosophies for Fave Music Vid Selection
How do we decide what music videos deserve our attention out of the sea of countless music videos in the endless ocean of music video options?
And why am I using aquatic metaphors?
Attend Class #3 for answers to the former.
H O M E W O R K
Use these philosophies and/or any other philosophies that feel right to you to create your own list fave music vids.
Extra Credit:
Send your newfound fave list to your professor, me, Gray Balls.
Extra Extra Credit:
Share it with the entire school.
Class 5
11th Philosophy For Fave Music Vid Selection : Thoughts
A fave music vid must inspire thoughts, otherwise I'm thinking its not a fave.
A s s i g n e d V i e w i n g
The Shoes Ft. Dominic Lord - "1960's Horror"
Dir: Emile Sornin
2016
H O M E W O R K
Find a music vid that gets you thinking.
Write down what you're thinking about it.
E x t r a C r e d i t
Share that vid and those thoughts with me, your professor of the Gray Balls variety.
E x t r a E x t r a C r e d i t
Share that vid and those thoughts with your fellow students of the everyone variety.
Class 6
3 Questions to Prompt Proper thought thinking (about fave music videos and/or any other part of the universe)
"There are no right or wrong answers, only right or wrong questions."
- Jah Booty
A s s i g n e d V i e w i n g
Bruce Springsteen - "Beautiful Disguise"
Class 7
12th Philosophy For Fave Music Vid Selection : Feelings
A fave music vid must invoke feelings, otherwise I'm feeling its not a fave.
Assigned viewing
The David Wilson clip
Homework
List a music vid (or more) that gets you feeling some things.
Extra Credit
Share it with me
Extra Credit
Share it with the entire school
Class 8
A Hypocritical Declaration of a Favorite Fave Music Video
I mean, you gotta have an answer when someone asks what your favorite fave music video baby is… right?
A s s i g n e d V i e w i n g
Gesaffelstein - “Pursuit”
Dir: Fleur + Manu
2010 (guess)
Class 9
The Monster in the Mirror: Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”
What can “Thriller” teach us about the media, monsters, and where Michael sits amongst them?
Assigned Viewing:
“Thriller” — by Michael Jackson Dir: John Landis
The Making of “Thriller” Dir: Jerry Kramer
“Bad” (full-length film) — Michael Jackson Dir: Martin Scorsese
“In the Closet” — Michael Jackson Dir: Herb Ritz
Additional Viewing:
Any and/or all other Michael Jackson joints.
Class 10
First Sexual Experience… with Music Videos
A personal tale of attraction to my first love/lust: music videos.
Assigned Viewing:
"Up All Night" by Winger Dir: Michael Bay
“Can’t Get Enough” by Winger Dir: Michael Bay
"I Love You" by Vanilla Ice Dir: Michael Bay
"Falling In Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" by Aerosmith Dir: Michael Bay
Additional viewing:
Any and/or all of my bae, Michael Bay's other music video work.
Even More Additional Viewing:
my current fave Michael Bay play is Pain & Gain. It has nothing to do with music videos or this particular class, I just like recommending it as my fave for now Mikey Bay joint, keeping in mind haven't seen Bad Boys 2, now his new documentary about Par Core'ers, and Ambulance could be cool.
H O M E W O R K
List a music video (or more) that turns you one.
E X T R A C R E D I T
Send it to me, bad girl/boy.
E X T R A E X T R A C R E D I T
Send it to everyone.
Class 11
A Pep Rally for Anarchy: Nirvana — “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
How music vid watching leads to liberation.
Assigned Viewing:
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana Dir: Samuel Bayer
Class 12
The Batman's Arch Nemesis; Bruce Wayne — The Maestro of the Batdance
What can Prince's 2 music vids from the Batman soundtrack teach us about the Batman and why these stories have populated our zestiest for the past half century or so?
Class 13
Final Exam for Semester #1: Why Music Videos Though?
(Big Time Spoiler)
The final exam for this semester is quite simple. It may even be an activity you do regularly.
Show a music video to a friend.
Talk about what thoughts and/or feelings it conjures.
Utilies the three questions to explore you more deeply.
Then utilize the same three questions to analyze what each other have answered.
Then ask your friend to do the same. Either showing you a music video they feel called to share, and/or paying it forward to share with another friend.
That concludes the exam.
The share of art, thoughts, and feelings continues.
Extra credit: Send a recap of the conversation to your professor (Gray Balls).
Extra Extra Credit: send it to everyone.
Assignments
Students are encouraged to:
- Watch the assigned videos
- Notice details one might normally ignore
- Develop one's own interpretations
There are no wrong answers—only answers that are less entertaining than others.
Often the questions are more entertaining than the answers.
So even more important than getting correct answers is asking the correct questions.
And there are no wrong questions—only questions that are less entertaining than others.
Extra Credit and Extra Extra credit
As you see the semister is peppered with credit of the extra variety, and even extra-er. You get extra for being vulnerable to share with the group.
And you get only credit of the non-extra extra variety because you intimately sent it to me. Instilling your confidence in my readings and perhaps hopeful reply.
I'm giving myself the out right now that I may not reply.
Please take all replies or not replies not personal, it all has to do with your professor not being email focused unless its office hours.
Plus Any time you alert the Music Video Mystery School staff (a.k.a. me, Professor Gray Balls) to potential fave music video babies—and the staff favors in its favor—
You get extra credit.
Big time.
(Important note: All extra or extra extra credit as far as a number or letter represention of credit extraness is arbitrary. The credit for the extraness is produced inside of you inharently as soon as you achieve what receives it.)
Academic Integrity Policy
(As voted on by the Music Video Mystery School board of directors—which is all me, Professor Gray Balls, yet again)
All interpretations presented in this course are speculative in nature.
All curiosity is to be pursued boldly.
Plagiarism only occurs when ideas are not properly filtered through one’s own conscious of this experience.
In Closing
Thank you for putting your precious curiosity into Music Video Mystery School's first semester, Why Music Video Though. We, me, the Music Video Mystery School's board of education, holds your attention with the highest honor of your attention.
Next and all other classes will begin whenever you desire.
Homework
No homework for the first day of class.
This is a classic teacher tactic to provide proof to you that I'm a cool teacher.
Member discussion: